Denver Broncos: What went wrong in loss to Baltimore?

The Denver Broncos fell short against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. What went wrong in this game, and what can we expect moving forward?

The Denver Broncos got off to a great start Sunday in Baltimore against the Ravens. It started when linebacker Joseph Jones got through Ravens blockers and rushed Baltimore’s punter for a fantastic block.

That set the Broncos up with tremendous field position, at the 6-yard line. Quarterback Case Keenum handed the ball to rookie running back Royce Freeman, and the third-round pick found his way into the end zone, putting the Broncos up 6-0. Kicker Brandon McManus’ extra point was good.

On the very next play, the kickoff, the first problem for the Broncos arose.

Rookie cornerback Isaac Yiadom, not even in the game at the time, pushed Baltimore’s kick returner after he had already been knocked out of bounds. The push forced a 15-yard personal foul against Denver, setting the Ravens up with even better field position.

The football was placed in Denver territory. It took Baltimore just six plays to get into the end zone; a 6-yard rush by running back Alex Collins.

On Denver’s next possession, the Broncos handed the ball off to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for a 35-yard touchdown run.

The Broncos led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, but that’s where the team’s scoring ended.

So, what went wrong?

It sure was not receiver Demaryius Thomas. Thomas caught every pass (five targets) that was thrown his way. Keenum did a good job of spreading the football around in general, too. He completed five passes each to three different receivers.

The Broncos really missed running back Phillip Lindsay after he was ejected early in the game for throwing a punch. The foul put the Ravens in great field position again, as it was a 15-yard penalty after the fumble. Lindsay had been the team’s most impressive running back this season.

Before he was ejected, however, he had just four carries but averaged five yards per attempt.

The big problem with Keenum’s performance was that he held onto the football too long on multiple occasions. The Ravens’ defense got to him for a sack three separate times. Was it due to great defensive coverage downfield?

Whatever the reason was for Keenum holding onto the ball so long, he should have simply just thrown it away.

The Broncos blocked a field goal attempt and cornerback Chris Harris Jr ran it back for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the play was called back due to a block in the back by “number 77″ (Billy Turner) who was not even on the field on the play.

Denver finished the game with thirteen penalties for 120 yards. Some penalties were more crucial and daggers in the heart more than others, but at the end of the day, those are penalties the Broncos cannot afford to commit. Far too many costly penalties can damage the hopes of any team winning a game in the NFL.

One of the biggest factors in Sunday’s loss was the Ravens being able to keep Broncos linebacker Von Miller from making an impact. He had just two tackles and no sacks throughout the game.

That is not something the Broncos want happening again.

It was just not the Broncos’ day. If they are going to win and get back on track, they are going to have to play better football in all phases. Whether any of the penalties committed by them were bogus, they still need to play better and overcome anything that they are dealt.